When Tawni Johnson was
called for jury duty in March of 1999 it was Civic duty vs. child duty. For
Tawni, a 30-year-old mother from Hillsboro, Oregon, there’s no question that
her 13-month old son, Brady, came first.

Even though she was still
nursing her child when called, the Court required her to report for jury duty
or face contempt charges. “It’s my decision to nurse,” she said, “but is it
their decision to tell me I can’t?”

The Johnson’s could not
afford day care and Tawni’s husband could not get time off to stay home with
their son while she was at jury duty.

When Tawni was unable to
postpone her jury service, she complained to the court, the media and her
legislators that she was being told, in effect, that she
couldn’t nurse her son and that she would be forced to leave him. Brady didn’t drink from
a bottle and has never been without his mother for more than a couple hours
at a time.

Fortunately for Tawni, her
state representative, Sen. Charles Starr, R-Hillsboro, intervened with the
Court, allowing Tawni to finally be excused from jury duty.

Tawni’s conviction to do
the right thing for her child prompted Sen. Starr and Sen. John Lim,
R-Gresham to sponsor a bill excusing sole caregivers of a child or other
dependent from jury duty. The bill was signed into law by the Governor of
Oregon on September 1, 1999.

Thank you Tawni, for your courage
to speak up for what is right.

Your efforts have helped families
and children everywhere!

Sources:

·“Mother’s Time is up: Join County Jury Pool or Else”, The Oregonian, April 2,
1999, by Holly Danks